


Proving Sincerity

by FlitShadowflame



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: M/M, Ritual Public Sex, culture clash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:59:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1275715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlitShadowflame/pseuds/FlitShadowflame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kink meme fill.  See prompt <a href="http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/9471.html?thread=20386047#t20386047">here</a>.  Public claiming sex where Bilbo is not involved, but watching.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Proving Sincerity

Bilbo had expected some misunderstandings to occur - after all, not many of the other races knew much at all about Hobbits, and Dwarves were notoriously secretive. The disastrous first meeting would hopefully not set the tone for the entire journey, but there were bound to be difficulties. The Dwarves were so...

Different. Not bad, he reminded himself hastily, not like Men could be bad and certainly not like wolves or wargs were bad, much less like how goblins and orcs were bad. But certainly different. The chief entertainment on the road seemed to be formed of complaining or storytelling, and usually complaining won. While Bagginses had always been the stiff upper lip sorts who only griped in private, the Dwarves always seemed grouchy, moaning about the weather or the food or that someone had stolen this-and-such from them.

They weren't all sour, of course; the youngest ones could be quite cheerful, but Fili and Kili also had a streak of Tookish mischief that made Bilbo hesitant to linger near them too much. And many of the Dwarves were content to be quiet about whatever made them surly: Dwalin spoke rarely and most often in Thorin's ear; Thorin likewise said little beyond ordering folk about. He never seemed to direct Dwalin: the other dwarf was always wherever Thorin needed him most.

Bombur was very quiet unless he was cooking, and Bifur seemed to find speaking difficult on his bad days. Bofur spoke enough for all three of them, but usually with such cheer that Bilbo found him hard to resist, in comparison to such dour company. It was Bofur he spent most of his time with, smoking peacefully or sharing stories.

All of this made what happened at Beorn's house even more confusing for Bilbo. Everyone seemed cheerful suddenly, and not just because of the ample food and drink (albeit none of it meat). The Dwarves slapped Bilbo's back and shoulders companionably, and Thorin smiled now and then. When they retired for the evening, Thorin stood in the middle of their messy pile of bedrolls and spoke briefly, though it must have been Dwarvish, because none of it made sense to Bilbo.

Bofur leaned close and said, "This should be a treat. Thought those two old biddies would never get it together."

"What?" Bilbo frowned, turning to him.

"Dwalin and Thorin have known each other their whole lives - and I'd say they've been in love about as long, too. With the mountain in sight and Thorin's mortality starin' 'em in the face, I guess they decided to stop wastin' time."

Bilbo glanced back and slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his squeak of surprise. Thorin was already stepping out of his smallclothes, and Dwalin had shed his outerwear and was now removing his boots.

"And...what does that mean, exactly," Bilbo said slowly, trying not to look as Thorin turned to help Dwalin strip.

"Mm, they'll lie together, is all. And probably from now on. Hope they aren't screamers."

This worked its way through Bilbo's brain in fits and starts. "You mean, they'll..." he made an obscene but illustrative gesture that his father would have twisted his ear for. "Right in front of us?"

"Naturally. To prove the suit is sincere, as if there could be any doubt with those two."

Bilbo gulped. "But - well. In front of us?"

Bofur turned to eye him. "Ah. Hobbits do things differently, I suppose?"

"Hobbits do 'things' privately," Bilbo hissed, though he couldn't stop peeking at the king and his guard, whose broad, powerful forms were now laid bare. They might have been much too hairy in the wrong places, and rather scarred, but they had a strange attraction even to him.

"If you cannot love in public you do not deserve love in private, the proverb goes," Bofur shrugged. "It's only the first night that's traditionally required, though in situations where close quarters make the lack of privacy a foregone conclusion, some couples do continue being intimate."

Fili and Kili, Bilbo noted, were joking together on the other side of the room, but their eyes stayed fixed on Thorin and Dwalin as the pair took to the bed, Dwalin liberally coating his fingers with oil.

Balin was mending a shirt, but he kept most of his attention on them as well. All the Dwarves were watching, not with lust or repulsion or even great fascination, but something like...indulgence, or fondness. It reminded Bilbo most bizarrely of a skit he'd seen some faunts perform once - they forgot half the lines and the plot was no better than should be expected of such young children, but the misty look in the eyes of the parents was quite like the expression the Dwarves wore now. Bilbo hadn't understood it then, the way pride in kin, especially one's own offspring, could blind people to faults or failures, or make the stupidest of mistakes seem endearing.

But even Bofur had that fond sort of look. Even Nori, who only ever softened where Ori was concerned, and who had some special animosity for Dwalin.

"I suppose not watching would be offensive," Bilbo muttered a little gloomily.

Bofur pinched his arm. "Yes, it would. If Thorin didn't want you here he could easily have excluded you. That you're here makes you an honorary dwarf, almost, a close friend. When Erebor is reclaimed and repopulated, there will likely be another ceremony, more official and with all the hobnobs attending, but in this, Thorin is trying to be...just Thorin. Not a king, but a Dwarf in love and willing to prove it to his friends and kin." Bofur sighed wistfully. "It's terribly romantic."

With a speech like that, Bilbo couldn't stop watching now, so mostly he focused on Thorin's face, how he gasped and moaned as Dwalin touched him, spread him open. Sometimes a thrill of heat shot through Bilbo, as when Dwalin first thrust inside Thorin, or when he pinned Thorin's wrists with one broad hand. But for the most part he was able to ignore the sexual aspect, focus on Thorin's look of rapture and Dwalin's intense concentration.

And if his hand found Bofur's more often in the days that followed, at least he knew better what he was getting in to.


End file.
